Good practices for web presences strategies of tourism destinations Luisa Mich a and John S. Hull b a Department of Computer and Management Sciences University of Trento, Italy luisa.mich@unitn.it b Abstract Thompson Rivers University British Columbia, Canada johnhull39@yahoo.ca Increasing success of social networks among users and widespread experiences of companies and organisations on Web 2.0 spaces, calls for flexible web presence strategies that are able to manage an increasing number of changes in technology and behavioural changes of users. The main challenge for Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) is to design a comprehensive online presence through the use of social networks and websites. To this end it is assumed that an analysis of the web presence strategies of similar destinations could help to identify good practices that integrate Web 2.0 tools and facilities. Preliminary results of a study comparing the web presence strategies of two DMOs are given. The research approach adopts a systematic process that evaluates the evolving web presence strategies of the two destinations, describing the main good practices identified. Keywords: DMO, website quality, good practices, official and semi-official presences 1 Introduction The Web presence strategy of a DMO – even for a small destination - should go beyond the B2C (Business to Consumer) and the B2B (Business to Business) websites, including some of the most successful Web 2.0 spaces and tools (in the large on- and off-line literature, see, for example (Travel Daily News, 2010)). In this respect, DMOs have to make a number of decisions that address: ‘which’ social networks they are adopting; which document sharing websites they will invest in; and ‘how’ to be present on the identified spaces. Data reported on the use of the Web 2.0 websites in the tourism sector confirm increasing numbers (European Commission, 2010 [July 20, 2011]; Eurostat, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu [July 20, 2011]; World Tourism Barometer, 2010 [July 20, 2011]). Even though the majority of DMOs use social networks, they often lack updated information on the large variety of Web 2.0 functionalities and communication services to support their promotional and commercial goals. In other words, DMOs have to identify good practices on such functionalities and services to mitigate the risks resulting from too early or too late adoption. They also have to answer questions related to the adoption of such tools as RSS, widgets, mobile apps, interactive maps, Twitter lists, etc.